The DANI Awards 2018 has been hailed as another ‘major success’ as local companies and individuals celebrate scooping up 20 prestigious awards.

The annual DANI Awards celebrate the success of digital and creative industries across Northern Ireland. This year welcomed an unprecedented number of entries to each of the 20 award categories.

The colourful and energetic ceremony took place on Friday 13th of April in the rarefied surroundings of Whitla Hall at Queen’s University Belfast.

The theme of the evening was far-eastern inspired and kicked off with fan dancers and a dragon dance throughout the packed venue.

Founder of the DANI Awards, Naomh McElhatton, took to the stage to warmly welcome everyone for their support.

The sell-out event, sponsored by Diamond Recruitment, featured the stunning Scissor Sisters Ms Ana Matronic as the guest host who introduced each of the award categories. One by one digital companies were welcomed to the stage to pick up their awards.

Winners of the night included Polemic Digital and The Sun (Best SEO Campaign), Queens University Belfast and Search Scientist (Best Digital Ad Campaign) and Best B2B Campaign (Electric Ireland Ni and The Tomorrow Lab).

Other awards handed out on the night acknowledged

individuals who have excelled within Northern Ireland’s digital landscape showing evidence of their contribution and ambition. The DANI Award for ‘Best Young Digital Person’ went to Emma Gribben of Digital by Emma and for ‘Digital Business Person of the Year’ the award went to Gavan Wall of The Wall Group NI.

DANI’s Naomh McElhatton commented: “With an unprecedented number of entries for DANI Awards 2018 and a sell-out event - this year was a massive success. We want to thank every company and person who entered, as well as our DANI judging panel who dedicated their time to carefully evaluate and analyse each of the entries.

“A massive congratulations to all our winners and to our finalists in what was an extremely competitive year for our awards."

Naomh added: “We could not let this night go without acknowledging all our sponsors - we thank-you for all your continued support in helping to make The DANI Awards such a major event.”